Nothing says summer more than lighting up that backyard barbeque. Of course, plain burgers are great, but if you are going to patty up your own burger, why not add other ingredients to the ground beef.
First make a quick condiment for your burger. Combine sour cream, lime juice and zest, cilantro, green chiles, and salsa. That’s it.
I also get my toppings ready to go.
Now get your burgers ready. Mix ground beef with jalapenos, cilantro, onions, green chiles, taco seasoning, chipotle powder for a little kick, lime juice and zest, and some crumbled cotija cheese. Cotija cheese can be found with the other Mexican style cheeses in the cheese department. If you cannot find it, you could replace it with a mild feta or top your burgers with some sliced co-jack. Or omit the cheese all together.
Burgers plump when you cook them, so when forming the patties, make sure the center is thinner than the edges. This will help ensure an even thickness when cooked.
Time to get grilling. Gas or charcoal? Well, use whatever you have. I happen to have both and today it was quite windy. I have a small gas grill on a patio that is somewhat blocked from the wind, so that is what I used. Otherwise I certainly would have used charcoal for that extra little smoky flavor charcoal provides.
It only takes about 5 minutes per side over medium to medium low heat with the lid closed.
During the last couple of minutes, I like to toast the burger buns, and if I’m topping my burger with cheese, this is when I do that too.
Now it’s time to build your burger however you desire.
Enjoy!
Chile Lime Burgers
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Small bowl and whisk
- Barbeque (gas or charcoal)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 80/20
- 1/3 cup cotija cheese crumbled
- 1 each jalapeno seeds and ribs removed, chopped
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 2 tbsp onion chopped
- 2 tbsp green chiles
- ½ tsp taco seasoning
- ¼ tsp chipotle powder
- ½ each lime juice and zest
Topping/Spread
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- ½ each lime juice and zest
- 1 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp green chiles
- 2 tbsp salsa
Burger Toppings
- 1 each avocado
- 1 each tomato
- 4 each leafs of lettuce
- 4 each burger buns
Instructions
- Combine burger ingredients until just mixed in. Do not overmix or your burgers will be tough. Divide into 4 and form 4 patties. Be sure to indent the center. When burgers cook, they plump. Forming an indent will help ensure you don’t have bloated burgers.
- Combine topping/spread ingredients.
- Slice tomato, wash and pat dry lettuce leaves, and slice burger buns.
- Grill burgers over medium heat about 5 minutes per side until they reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees.
- In the last minute or so, grill the burger buns.
- Build your burger. I like to put sauce on both sides of the bun, then the burger, tomato, avocado, and lettuce.